More self employment for the 50+'s in US

In our book we quote the increase in self employment for the over 50's and over 60's so it is with interest that I found an article describing the same phenomon in the US. Sadly of course we know that one of the reasons is the difficulty in getting a new job after 50 but also the research suggests that our age group are less interested in traditional jobs.

Looking at self-employment rates by age groups in November of 2007 to May of 2009,the numbers don’t suggest a big rise in entrepreneurship among young people. Self-employment rates rose among people aged 16 to 19, but were constant among those 20 to 24.

On the other hand, self-employment has risen dramatically among older people from November 2007 through May 2009. This rate has risen from 15.6 to 17.3 percent.

While the self-employment rate has been higher among people 65 and older for a while, the gap between the self-employment rate for the 65-plus age group and the next highest group (55 to 64) has grown.